Eric Clapton

Ronan McCullagh explores Cream’s brief but explosive years as Clapton, Baker and Bruce created and defined the sound of blues-rock.

- Ronan McCullagh

It’s hard to point to a blues guitarist that has evolved and pushed music and the modern electric guitar as much as Eric Clapton. His need to stretch out and explore was the reason Cream formed in the first place. Eric left John Mayall & The Blues breakers in 1966 after feeling somewhat confined within the group. After meeting with Cream’s future drummer Ginger Baker, who was playing for The Graham Bond Organisation, it became clear that they shared similar feelings so talk of a band forming began. The third element of this super group was a deal breaker for Clapton: he had to have bass virtuoso Jack Bruce – not exactly an easy thing for Baker as they had shared time in Bond’s band and didn’t always see eye to eye (Baker actually sacked him from t